Xu Xin swept aside by Ma Long in the Chinese Super League sixth round

15 Nov 2016

Shandong Weiqiao continues to present itself as a strong force with which to reckon, as the competition of the Men's Chinese Super League continues,

In the sixth round, Ma Long and company experienced struggles but in the end, they emerged as the victors against host's Shanghai. Meanwhile, an upset was recorded after Shandong Luneng faced defeat against Bazhou.

The 2016 Chinese Super League had its sixth round of competition in the Men’s Division on Monday 1st November; this round gave way for a battle between two strong teams, Shandong Weiqiao and the Shanghai Team.

Shanghai playing at home, gave them an advantage against their opponents. Indeed, the team had a good start. Xu Xin overcame his rival Yan An in a close encounter in the opening match (11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11, 7-5).

Shang Kun then entered into the arena for the second order of proceedings with confidence. Against the reigning Olympic champion Ma Long, Shang Kun sealed the first two games. However, he was not able to capitalise on his advantage. Ma Long recovered and then sealed it to his favour (11-13, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 9-7).

Shanghai regained control in the match after their tandem won the doubles. Shang Kun and Zhao Zihao won in straight games.

Xu Xin then returned into the arena for the fourth match and this time, against a stronger opponent, Ma Long. Despite the strong support from the crowd, Shanghai’s team leader was beaten in three straight games (11-6, 11-6, 14-12).

The battle then led to a decider between Zhao Zihao and Lin Gaoyuan. Once again, the hosts failed to use their advantage to their favour. Lin Gaoyuan sealed the win a straight games.

Shandong Weiqiao posted their sixth consecutive victory in the season.

Aside from Shandong Weiqiao, the Bayi Team also maintained their undefeated status in the round. Fan Zhendong and company defeated Tianjin in a powerful manner. Score recorded was 3-0.

Another team also posted a sweep victory in the sixth round of the competition. It is the Shenzhen Team. Cui Qinglei, Joo Saehyuk and Liu Jikang all contributed to defeat Jiangsu. In their battle, Joo Saehyuk overcame Chuang Chih Yuan in three straight games (11-3, 11-7, 11-2).

Meanwhile, Shandong Luneng had another inconsistent performance in the competition. The team played with the home-court advantage but their opponents from Bazhou came strong.

Fang Bo won the opening match against Wang Chuqin. However, the succeeding matches were not in favour to the host team. Bazhou’s Liang Jingkun had another great performance this season. He scored two points defeating Zhang Chao and Fang Bo.

With the victory of Cheng Jingqi and Fan Shengpeng in the doubles, Bazhou won the battle, recording their third victory.

Anhui completes the successful teams in this round. Yu Ziyang and Zhou Qihao contributed the necessary points in their battle against Sichuan. Yu Ziyang defeated Zhu Linfeng and Lai Jiaxin.